Buying a Home

The first thing you should do is focus on what you're looking for in a home. You can start by establishing priorities in the following three areas:

Location: Are you relocating to a new town because of a new job, or to be closer to your current job? How will the location of schools, shops, and transportation affect your choice of neighborhoods?

Personal tastes: How large a home do you need? What style of architecture do you prefer? On what kind of lot? Depending on where you live, you may have a choice of homes in dozens of styles, sizes, and settings.

Finally, contact one of our friendly agents to help you find neighborhoods and properties that appeal to you. The more knowledgeable you become with our experts at your side, the better your final decision is likely to be.

When you’re ready to look at a home, bring your own:

Notebook and pen for note-taking

Flashlight for seeing enclosed areas

Tape measure for checking room sizes, clearance, etc.

Camera to assist you in remembering details about the home

Be prepared to "snoop around" a little. After all, you want to know as much as possible about the home you buy. Sellers understand that because their home is on the market, it will be looked over pretty thoroughly.

If you need to go back to a home for another look, your agent will be happy to schedule an appointment. Also, be sure to ask any questions you have about the home, even if you feel you're being nosy. You have a right to know.

8 questions to ask when looking at a home

Many people buy a home to get extra space for growing families, changing lifestyles, or to more comfortably host guests. Extra space also makes homes more appealing to buyers when it comes time to sell. Here are 8 questions to ask—and answer—when looking at properties:

Is there enough room for you now and in the near future?

Is the home's floor plan right for your family?

Is there enough storage space?

Will you have to replace the appliances?

Is the yard the size that you want?

Are there enough bathrooms?

How much maintenance and/or decorating will you need to do right away or later?

Will your present furniture work in this home?

As a rule of thumb, ask any questions you have about specific rooms, features, or functions. Pay particular attention to areas that you feel could become "problem" areas—additions, defects, areas that have been repaired.

And above all, if you don't feel your question has been answered, ask until you do understand and are satisfied. In most cases, your real estate agent will be able to provide you with detailed information about each home you see.

Putting your home's best foot forward

Unless your house is nearly new, chances are you'll want to do some work to get it ready to market. The type and amount of work depends largely on the price you're asking, the time you have to sell, and of course, the present condition of the house.

In general—stick to light, neutral colors. Keep the yard and rooms free of clutter or kids' toys. Remember, when a buyer looks at a house, he or she is trying to imagine living there. Create as clean a canvas as possible.

Here are a few low-cost ways to achieve that:

"Curb appeal" is the common real estate term for everything prospective buyers can see from the street that might make them want to come in and take a look. Keep two key words in mind: neat and neutral. New paint, an immaculate lawn, picture-perfect shrubbery, a newly sealed driveway, potted plants at the front door—put them all together, and drive-by shoppers will probably want to see the rest of the house.

People may look behind closet and crawl space doors, as well as those to the bedrooms and bathrooms. So get rid of all the clutter; have that garage sale and haul away the leftovers.